Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 1: Atsumari/Gathering

[Keith Valken Lionheart]

"You're right, Kita-sama. But you know us Bushi, always striving for perfection. But I'm not worried about failing, just of injuring someone. Thank you for the boost in confidence, though, I appreciate it." It was then he saw the other Bushi approach him. "Hmm? I didn't see you in the combat tournament yesterday. Well, no matter, this should be fun."  

[Mongooseh]

"No I haven't sadly enough, you have seemingly upset that woman. Well if you cannot find it I can make you a new one Hogai but not before probably when you need it... Can you wake Kaori and remind her to sign up to the shugenja duels Hogai? I have to go sign up for the story telling and if you wish to find me I will be around the place surveying the crane fortifications..." Kagae paused to think here, "Well until later Hogai."  

[Mongooseh]

OOC: Keep forgetting to roll my damned void. As plainfox has done first too are there for rolls the ones after are for splodey.
10 void  

[Psychofish]

((Rolling void for Rain. IC posting to come later.))  

[Rain Yupa]

KYUJUTSU COMPETITION SIGN-UPS

Kakita Zanzen {24}
Asahina Kenichi {5}
Mirumoto Sozen {12}
Matsu Seichiro {3}
Yoritomo Hisashi {7}
Isawa Sosuke {35}
Shosuro Naizen {13}
Bayushi Kojiro {19}
Horiuchi Sayoko {8}


STORYTELLING COMPETITION SIGN-UPS

Kaiu Kagae {10}
Hida Hogai {17}
Doji Koan {23}
Kitsuki Wazuka {22}
Yoritomo Susumu {5}
Asako Sumi {30}
Ide Jiro {18}
Ujina Denbe {5}
Kan {34}


TARYU-JIAI DUEL SIGN-UPS

Kuni Kaori {15}
Tamori Makoto {24}
Kitsu Kyumi {17}
Isawa Toyoko {16}
Soshi Maru {11}
Shinjo Gemmei {8}  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Crab Tent:

"I appreciate the offer, little cousin, but you're right. It wouldn't be ready in time." Looking over to Kaori's cot, he would look back down to Kagae. "Heh. Does she intimidate you? She's just a big p***y cat, don't let her push you around. Here, look."

He would walk right over to her cot, and deliver a fierce kick to the side of it, resulting in

*SHHPLORT!* {14 damage. Hogai is Grazed.}

With surprising dexterity, Kaori swung herself over and thrust her tanto into Hogai's thigh. Wide eyed, she panted heavily for a few moments while the larger Crab simply stood there, before crawling backwards.

"DAMN IT, HOGAI! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!" she would yell loudly, quite flustered.

"... Kaori. Your knife is in my leg."

She would redden somewhat, reaching forward slowly, her calloused fingers grabbing the hilt of the weapon. She would suddenly yank it backwards, causing Hogai to exhale through gritted teeth.

"Hogai, I..." Looking over to Kagae, then to Hogai, she would suddenly run to the tent flaps, looking outside. Swearing to herself, she would run back to her cot, grabbing her shugenja robes to wear over her clothes as she rushed out barefoot to go sign up before it was too late.

"Could you do me a favor, lad, and get me some bandages?" he would ask the Kaiu smith, smiling awkwardly.

--------------------

@ Scorpion Tent:

"Yes, a little bit. We didn't want to wake you, since you were still resting from your match yesterday. I figure the two of you needed as much rest as you could muster before today. No one should have to worry about being wounded today, so we can discuss it at length tonight," Maru would explain, smiling.

"Word is..." Naizen would suddenly speak up, glancing at the door once before continuing. "The Mantis that fought yesterday was not prepared for an archery contest. The other Mantis is a courtier, so it is likely that the most skilled archers aren't present at this tournament. Kojiro, I believe we might have an edge."

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@ Daidoji Training Grounds:

Kyumi would be handed a scroll by Kuni Raicho upon signing up for the Shugenja duel. "Read this. Study it. Prepare to use it tonight at sunset. This duel involves summoning the kami to fight at your behest, and you will need to know this conjuration inside and out if you wish to compete. Do not disappoint me, Kitsu Kyumi."

Raicho's attention would momentarily be diverted to a woman in similar robes running up barefoot, though she lacked the Kuni facepaint. Raicho would dismiss Kyumi, which would give Toyoko the opportunity to run up to her, clutching an identical scroll in her arms, hugging it to her chest.

"I'm so glad you're competing, Kyumi-san! Can I call you Kyumi-chan? Since all the events are going to be done outside today, I was thinking we can watch the other samurai at the other events while we wait for ours to come up! What do you say?"  

[Plainsfox]

@The Scorpion Tent

Kojiro fought to keep all but a small trace of pride out of his voice. "Their founder learned his art by Scorpion teachers first. His father was a Shosuro. Surely, we are not better than they?"

The Scorpion swallowed deeply and bowed. "Forgive my hubris. It is unbecoming. May the fortunes smile down upon us today and guide us to victory in our contests."  

[Raganui Minamoto]

@Daidoji Training Grounds

Zanzen, after seeing the sign up results, would go looking for Kenichi. Upon finding him, he's greet the man. "Hello, Asahina-san. So, how went your tournament the other day?"  

[Mongooseh]

"You two are definitely a strange pair" said Kagae as he left to go get the bandage for Hogai. He would glance over at the fortifications anxious to study them but right now Hogai was kind of hurt. He would arrive at the medical tent and would say,

"We need medical assistance at the crab tent a slight accident has happened..."  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Daidoji Training Grounds:

Actually, Asahina Kenichi makes it a point to avoid any other members of the Crane clan outside of competitions. To find him, it will actually require an opposed Perception/Investigation (Search) vs Kenichi's Agility/Stealth (Sneaking). But no time for that now, because you'll be bumping into him shortly!  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Kyujutsu Competition:

The latest bunch of samurai interested in the physical event of this day would find themselves led to a large clearing. Servants were bringing out the last of the large padded targets, putting them at the ends of several marked 'lanes', each about 10' across. Marked by rope on the ground, each lane traveled for several hundred feet. At one end - the end all of you have gathered at - a rope perpendicular to the rest crosses all the lanes at their beginnings.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!" Doji Kita would chirp, smiling happily and peacefully. She carried a Yumi bow with a quiver of arrows on her back, as she approached the group. A group that everyone had at least a couple inches on, at least.

"So, this is everyone who wished to compete in the archery contest, hmm? Well, everyone plus one, it seems..." she would start to say, looking past the group for a gloomy looking woman keeping her distance from the rest of you.

"No matter. Here's how the Kyujutsu competition will proceed. As you can see, the fellow magistrates and I have provided you with a number of targets, each about 5' in diameter. Now, if you look closely..."

Turning to one target at the edge, which was about 50' away, she would reach into her quiver, and quick as lightning, fire off a shot that hit the exact dead center of the red bulls-eye. "The center red circle is worth 100 points." She would fire a second time, landing just to the right of the bulls-eye, into the first white ring. "The inner ring is worth 60 points." A third arrow would follow, and would strike just to the right of her last, into the red ring. "The middle ring is worth 40 points." With one last arrow, she would fire into the outer circle, again to the right, forming a perfect straight line. "The outer ring is worth 20 points."

Letting out a breath, she would turn once more to the crowd. "Sorry, boys. I'm spoken for. But back to business! You need 100 points to proceed to each round. The targets are 50' back, and will be brought back 50' each round thereafter. Random lots will be drawn to see who goes first. You get three shots on each of your turns. If you fail to earn 100 points, you will be immediately eliminated."

She would bow before all of you, before looking up and smile. "I implore all of you: Give me a good show, and keep it sporting!"



THE MECHANICAL RULES:

Your current TN at 50' is 5. This will allow you to hit the target at all, hitting the outer white ring (20 points). The base TN is increased by 5 every 50'. This replaces the ranged penalties on page 180, reducing the TN by 5 if you have 3 ranks (but only once it reaches over 50' distance).

To hit a better target than the outer ring, you need to declare raises (limited by your Void ring or Kyujutsu rank, whichever is higher). One raise lets you hit the middle red ring (40 points). Two raises lets you hit the inner white ring (60 points). Three raises lets you hit the red bulls-eye (100 points). Each raise increases your TN by 5, as normal.

If you miss your TN by 1, you drop to the ring of the next lowest value. This is good if you target the bulls-eye up to TN-3, which will get you the outer ring. If you didn't declare any raises, missing the TN by anything is a miss.

You get three shots, and declare your raises before each shot. They need not be the same for each shot, and you can decide before each consecutive roll. Good luck!

Matsu Seichiro steps up to the plate first!  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae only received bandages after explaining the severity of the wound and mutterings of crabs being tough enough people. He signed up to the storytelling on the way back to make it look like he was trying to make an effort but ultimately he did return to Hogai with the bandages. Passing them to Hogai he said, "I hope you know how to use them because I definitely don't."  

[Plainsfox]

@The Archery Contest

Kojiro silently gestured for Lady Kita's attention and stoically imagined the reaction he would get from his fellow scorpions. Once he had Lady Kita's attention, he would quietly state the following. "Would it be possible, to lend another contestant one's bow when one is not using it?" Kojiro glanced in the direction of the gloomy woman. "I would imagine that we could swap off my bow or the like. We're not shooting simultaneously."  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Storytelling Competition:

Shortly after the Kyujutsu Competition would end, the Magistrate Seppun Benjiro would gather all the would-be storytellers around a large outside area by the shade of a large peach tree. A large sheet would be placed across the ground over the mats to protect the samurai from protruding rocks and roots. Not far away, the wafting smell of an early dinner being cooked would fill your senses!

"Hello, one and all. I'm glad to see you've decided to join the party with the Storytelling competition! Today, I get to do the rounds and feed you all, so I hope you don't mind. I'm a fan of fish, so my chefs are preparing some rice and miso soup to open, followed by servings of sanma yakizakana. If you've never had it grilled, it's to die for! Though Kita-san insists it's an acquired taste." Benjiro would seem mildly put off for a second, before continuing.

"But dinner will come soon enough. We're here to compete, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I enjoy entertainment with my meal. I won't be judging, however. I'm just here to keep the peace. I'll explain that in a bit. Please, everyone, have a seat."

Across the white sheet, several black trays have been placed in a circular fashion; one for every competitor, and one for the Magistrate. There would be paper placards with each of your names scrawled upon them in delicate calligraphy.

"Starting with my left, everyone will be taking turns weaving a story to entertain the rest of us. You could weave any story you want, but remember that the object is to please your audience. I'm a man of simple tastes when it comes to such things, but your fellow samurai competitors here are probably harsher critics than I. So, you will be competing to win THEIR approval, not mine. After each story, you will all have a chance to discuss and offer feedback. The better the story, the better everyone will enjoy it, so put your soul into it!"



The Mechanical Rules:

When your turn comes up, make an Awareness/Storytelling (Oratory) for original or second-hand tales, or Awareness/Storytelling (Bragging) if it's a tale of something that happened to your character! Declare any raises before you roll, up to your Void or Storytelling rank, whichever is higher. The base TN is 5.

After seeing the result of your roll, your character must tell us a story (and keep it applicable to the setting of L5R, so nothing futuristic or anything that would be considered a gaijin tale). The length of the story must be at least as many sentences as the result of your Storytelling roll, and at most twice as many as the result of you roll.

If you fail to meet the TN (either base, or modified by any raises), then you choke and blow your chance.

After the story, everyone else will critique it. To critique, roll a Perception/Storytelling (Oratory) vs Oratory rolls or Perception/Investigation (Interrogation) vs Bragging rolls. Your DC is the result of the storyteller's Storytelling roll. Each raise declared forces you to keep the lowest die of your roll. If the number of raises equals or surpasses your number of kept dice, then you keep the lowest number of dice possible.

If you beat the TN, you find flaws in the storyteller's style, holes in their story, discrepancies with their logic, et cetra. If you match, or fail to beat the TN, then you enjoyed the story (at least, enjoyed it enough) to not have anything bad to say about the story itself.

The person with the most positive reviews wins!

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Yoritomo Susumu would have the (dis)pleasure of going first, and servants come and pour tea for all of you while dinner is finishing up! The post will come after the Shugenja Duel set-up.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Taryu-jiai Duel:

After the Storytelling event was over, Kuni Raicho would summon forth all of the shugenja that wished to compete. "I hope you all studied the scrolls I gave you. As a gift from myself, I will permit you to keep the scrolls necessary to summon such elemental avatars for future Taryu-jiai duels." Kuni Raicho would gesture around, signaling for all of you to observe your arena.

You are standing in a 25' circle of dirt, packed tightly against the ground. At four points outside the circle (forming a square), there was a burning torch, a boulder surrounded by smaller stones, a barrel of water, and a simple paper fan that turned in the gentle breezes of the incoming night.

"In an effort to appeal to the various tastes of varying shugenja, the Avatar variant of Taryu-jiai will be used. Thus, no actual harm will come to any of you through all of this. If you studied the scrolls like I said, however, you would know that."

She would do a quick head-count to make sure there were as many of you as there was supposed to be. "Those of you who competed in Go last night, you will find my set-up tonight somewhat similar. But trust me, it is not. You will be paired up as I declare, starting with three one-on-one matches. You will be matched up as necessary from that point on. This is a double elimination duel, so it will continue until only one of you remains."

Raicho would gesture to two opposite sides of the circle. "Shinjo Gemmei. Soshi Maru. You will be competing first." Raicho would then walk out of the circle without another word.



The Mechanical Rules:

There are three steps to the Duel. Assessment, Declaration, and Resolution. They will proceed as follows:

Step 1 - If neither shugenja concedes, roll an Awareness/Spellcraft vs TN 5 (before any raises). If successful, you learn 1 fact about your opponent, plus one fact for each Raise you declared. You may learn any one of the following:

• The opponent's Insight Rank (only in total Shugenja School Ranks).
  
• The opponent's Affinity (choose first gained if multiple are possessed).
  
• The opponent's Deficiency (as above).
  
• The opponent's highest Ring.
  
• The opponent's lowest Ring.
  
• Any specified Ring of the opponent, including Void.
  
• The opponent's remaining Void Points.
  
• The opponent's rank in Spellcraft.
  
• The opponent's rank in Meditation.

Step 2 - Declare which element you will use for your avatar. An avatar of that element is summoned/created from the kami, in whatever form you desire. The avatar has each of it's Rings at 1, except for your chosen Ring, which is at 2. The avatar has a number of additional Ring Ranks equal to your chosen Ring, which is distributed at your discretion.

The Avatar can call raises up to it's Void Ring, as normal. It's attack rolls are made using the chosen Ring/your Spellcraft. The avatar has a number of ranks in Defense equal to your ranks in Meditation. The avatar has a number of wounds per wound level equal to your Insight Rank x it's Earth Ring. GM's Variant: Add the avatar's Fire Ring to the attack roll total. On a hit, the avatar deals Ring-k-School Rank damage. Roll a Raw Air Roll to see which avatar strikes first.

Step 3 - Fight!

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Shinjo Gemmei and Soshi Maru would engage in their duel... after a word from our sponser, Bushid-O's!